One Oak Restoration Project

August 1, 2024

Grace and peace be with you!

We are writing to share important information about an upcoming vote on August 25, 2024, concerning a plan to signicantly renovate One Oak Plaza and make signicant necessary repairs to 5 Oak Street including new roofs, fire suppression additions to the children’s building, replacement of the Sanctuary sound system and several other immediate need projects. The plan requires the creation of a new line of credit suffcient to complete these projects to be paid from the new enhanced income stream from One Oak.

At the conclusion of the worship service on August 25th, the church will hold a special business meeting and the congregation will be asked to arm this vision and take the initial steps needed to pursue this historic opportunity.

For the past five years, leaders in our congregation have worked to explore various options around the future of our One Oak property and our campus as a whole. In April when the church withdrew from Project Aspire, the focus of church leadership began considering options to enhance our facility and allow us to address some signicant and somewhat urgent needs of our 1927 building without being required to again approach our members with yet another capital needs campaign. We recognized that this would require focusing on increasing our revenue stream to make this a reality. Leaders from the deacons, the ad hoc Project Aspire committee, staff and specifcally the One Oak Plaza Trust Committee, and the Deacons have discerned that taking steps to pursue the proposal outlined in the enclosed pages is the right path at the right time. This proposal allows us to enter a time of restoration, renewal and hope regarding our facilities but requires that we once again step out in faith in order to be a relevant and responsive congregation.

We want to remind you that this plan is preliminary, and the dollars involved will change, and there are many details to work out. This proposal was designed to present low-risk, sustainable, increased revenue opportunities for the church in ways that could beneift this congregation and community for generations to come. The authorization for debt is a maximum number and our hope is that as things progress, we will and ways to reduce this maximum amount.

The materials in this mailing include a sample ballot for the upcoming vote and a three-page overview of the project. Please review this information carefully and let us know if you have questions. We encourage everyone to be present for the August 25th special business meeting. However, if you will not be present on August 25th, we have made a provision for electronic voting that requires you follow these important steps:

1. Send an email to Casey Callahan and request a One Oak Restoration Project ballot anytime from 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 19, 2024, through 4:00 p.m. on Friday, August 23, 2024.

2. The church office will send you a ballot electronically through email.

3. Once you’ve received your ballot, send back an email indicating your vote and membership status.

4. You will receive an email confirming your vote has been received.

Please note, if these steps are not followed as outlined above your vote will not be valid.

Thank you for your willingness to engage in this critical conversation. We encourage you to participate in upcoming informational meetings regarding the plan. We hope you will pray about this and pay attention to where the Holy Spirit is leading us. Over the past five years, doors have opened and closed in ways that have led us to the concept we are currently considering. We feel strongly that this new opportunity responds to God’s call to be church and the income it will generate will allow us to love within and beyond our church doors.

With love and encouragement,

Stephanie Kiser, Deacon Chair
Mack Dennis, Senior Pastor